Homosexual groups in Scotland have received nearly ten times as much Government funding as church groups over the past decade.

New figures reveal that since 2001-2, three homosexual lobby groups have received a total of £5.9m. However over the same period only £600,000 has gone to church groups.

Christian groups Solas and CARE for Scotland as well as a national newspaper criticised the news.

Campaign

Critics also highlighted recent official statistics which found only 1.5 per cent of Britons say they are homosexual or bisexual. Almost 70 per cent of Britons identify themselves as Christian.

Director of Solas David Robertson said the lopsided nature of the funding was “more than a little disproportionate”.

He continued: “The trouble is that the various LGBT groups are funded by the Government – they then use a considerable proportion of that money to run campaigns which then compel politicians to keep giving them money to show that they are not homophobic.”

Agenda

Gordon Macdonald, of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) for Scotland, said: “I think these figures show there is a clear agenda being pursued by the equalities unit of the Scottish Government which favours the LGBT groups.”

Mr Macdonald also said, “my view is that we need to examine the very close relationship enjoyed by these groups with the people running the Government’s equalities unit”.

The Scottish Daily Mail drew attention to the revelations in an editorial under the headline: “Discrimination – in the name of ‘equality’”.

Fear

The newspaper said: “Ironically, the Holyrood department disbursing this cash is the Scottish Government’s ‘equalities unit’. Is this not a classic example of inequality?

“The decision undoubtedly stems from a neurotic fear on the part of the Government of being seen to be homophobic.